SOUTHPORT, ENGLAND - JULY 27: Colin Montgomerie of Scotland hits a shot from the fairway during the third round of The Senior Open Championship played at Royal Birkdale Golf Club on July 27, 2013 in Southport, United Kingdom. (Photo by Phil Inglis/Getty Images)

NEWPORT, UNITED KINGDOM - MAY 11: Colin Montgomerie greets the crowd at the Celebrity Golf Club Live event at Celtic Manor Resort on May 11, 2013 in Newport, Wales. (Photo by Matthew Horwood/Getty Images)

After a decades-long relationship with American fans that has been tumultuous at times, Colin Montgomerie, one of the most successful European Ryder Cup players of all time, said he has high hopes for local fans when the Ryder Cup comes to Hazeltine National in Chaska in 2016.

“I’m really looking forward to it,” Montgomerie, from Scotland, said Thursday at TPC Twin Cities in Blaine before teeing off in a 3M Championship pro-am. “This is a big sporting area and I think the fans will be great. Of course they’re going to cheer and want to see the Americans win. We all know that. I don’t think they’ll be cheering against you so much as cheering for their guys.”

His relationship with U.S. fans hasn’t always been so cheery, perhaps most notably at the 1999 Ryder Cup in Brookline, Mass., where he was constantly heckled by fans, he said. And he’s heckled back a few times over the years.

Even as recently as last year, Montgomerie seemed to insinuate that American fans aren’t as passionate or as knowledgeable about the game as fans across the pond.

“I don’t think golf fans in America are members of golf clubs in the way they are here,” he said in an interview with BBC Radio, according to USA Today. While talking about the 2012 BMW Championship in England during the same interview, he said, “most of the fans will be golfers and understand and respect the etiquette of the game.”

But Montgomerie, who owns an impressive Ryder Cup record, was upbeat when talking about the 2016 event and pointed out that the Upper Midwest will host consecutive Ryder Cups in America, with the competition returning to the U.S. in 2020 at Whistling Straits in Wisconsin.

“This is a great area around here with great fans,” Montgomerie said. “I look forward to these fantastic events. They’re golf’s biggest events, really.”

The Ryder Cup has always been special to Montgomerie, he said. And he said he appreciates the fun atmosphere.

He’s played in the Ryder Cup eight times, has never lost a singles match and holds a 20-9-7 record overall in the event. He captained the 2010 European team to a 14-1/2-13-1/2 victory at Celtic Manor in Wales.

Impressive stuff for a guy who has never won a major championship. Montgomerie, 50, who finished first on the European Tour Order of Merit every year from 1993 to ’99, has finished second in five majors, losing the 1994 U.S. Open and 1995 PGA Championship in playoffs.

And while he has had difficulty with heckling spectators over the years, especially at majors, he said he recognizes that the Ryder Cup is a different environment. During the 1999 U.S. Open, a few American fans were following his round, shouting at him at each hole.

“Why don’t you save that for the Ryder Cup,” he yelled back to them.

Montgomerie’s intense personality has subsided a bit over the years, some of his longtime competitors said, especially of late as he participates in the Champions Tour, which has brought him to this weekend’s 3M Championship.

“I think we’ve all calmed down a bit,” American tour veteran Bob Tway said. “That’s probably not unique to him. I think it’s more of a reflection of the atmosphere here.”

Chad Graff joined the Pioneer Press in April of 2013 -- long enough to cover three straight Wild playoff exits at the hands of the Blackhawks -- after working for the Philadelphia Inquirer and Boston Globe. He's lived in California and Texas, but most recently spent a decade in New Hampshire. He watched New England fans celebrate seven championships in his time there, yet somehow his only sports allegiance lies with Nebraska football.

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